I bought the Henle urtext edition score of the Goldberg Variations very boldly, sure that I could breeze through the Aria in two minutes and the rest quite easily, except for a few pieces... damn!!! I am left stunned.
Naturally, I believe it is just a matter of notation and not so much difficulty.
But is it just me finding the Aria so obstinate, in terms of tempo and all the myriad of embellishments that are there, or does it really seem like this notation comes from outer space?
And yet, I have read about Bach.... why this obstacle?
Systems to study them well? Since this is one of those masterpieces that is still virgin territory for me and I had never actually read anything at all.
first of all, compliments... this is what I did: I listened to the Aria (lead sheet) performed by those five or six pianists whom I like in Bach; to hear how they embellish it.
If you do it too, you will find differences between one interpretation and another, and you will get an idea of what you prefer. Some performers, when performing the ritornellos, perform the embellishments differently from the first time, some omit them, some add them....
Thanks Luca, yes indeed an excellent way to get an idea. In Bach's time, embellishments were invented as they went along; they weren't exactly fixed rules.
I will try to find some time to combine something with it.
